Chamber and committees

We have committed to a national concessionary travel scheme for free bus travel for people aged 18 and under from January 2021, subject to completion of the necessary preparations, including due diligence and research. We will engage with young people across the country to ensure that all areas benefit from the measures.

Support is provided for young people who use ferries through the YoungScot national entitlement card. Young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who live on islands receive four vouchers for single trips or two returns from the islands to the mainland. In addition, under-16s travel for half the adult fare, and under-5s travel completely free.

Currently we do not have a definitive estimate of the annual cost of providing free ferry travel to island residents aged 18 and under.

The Scottish Government welcomes the work of Greenspace Scotland in estimating the potential for ground source heating from parks.

As we transition to a low carbon economy we will use a range of sources for heating. We are working with local authorities to develop Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies to identify and coordinate delivery of the most appropriate forms of low carbon heat for each area in Scotland and improvements to the energy efficiency of the building stock. We continue to build the evidence base necessary to inform Scottish Government policy and local authority strategies. We are grateful to Greenspace Scotland for the initiative they have shown, and will work with them to incorporate their work into our growing evidence base.

The Scottish Government, through the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP), provided £100,000 of financial support to Edinburgh City Council in 2017 for the development of the renewable heat project at Saughton Park. This support enabled the completion of a low carbon heat options appraisal and technical study. Through our Community And Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), the Scottish Government has also supported Greenspace Scotland to examine similar approaches in five parks across the Falkirk and North Lanarkshire Council areas.

Large scale heat sources need dedicated infrastructure to deliver the heat to our buildings. Heat networks will have a key role to play in supplying Scotland's heat in future and will support our efforts to reduce emissions. We have introduced the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill to create the circumstances needed to unlock the full potential of the sector and support its growth. Alongside the Bill, the Scottish Government is continuing to demonstrate its strong support for the heat networks sector. In the Budget we have announced a £50 million Heat Networks Early Adopter Challenge Fund - a ring-fenced fund for local authority heat network projects - and we continue to provide support through our District Heating Loan Fund and Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme.

The important role played by wrasse in controlling lice in salmon farms is already recognised and this Government is committed to ensuring that wild caught wrasse are being fished sustainably, with effective management in place to safeguard their numbers.

In May 2018, working with the Scottish Salmon Producer’s Organisation, we introduced voluntary measures to control harvesting. After being in place for nearly two years, we undertook an internal review of the voluntary measures, also engaging with the SSPO, salmon farm operators, and fishermen supplying the salmon farms.

The review found that most of the original voluntary measures were operating satisfactorily, however, there is scope to improve the reporting of wrasse fishing activity and merit in introducing more formal harvesting measures - which will bring the wrasse fishery more into line with other Scottish fisheries.

We are therefore launching today a consultation on our proposals to introduce mandatory controls covering the reporting and practice of wild wrasse harvesting. These will enable us to better monitor the fishery and the impact on stocks, and where appropriate at any time, introduce further control measures.

The consultation will run until 10 April and I would encourage any interested parties to provide their views and any information that may help us finalise the proposals.

The basic rate poundage that has been set for 2020-21 is 49.8p, 1.6% higher than it was in 2019-20 (49.0p) (inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index in September 2019 was 1.7%). This, combined with a below-inflation increase in the poundage in 2019-20, will save ratepayers an estimated £5.8 million in 2020-21 relative to a baseline where the poundage is assumed to have increased by CPI in both these years. The following table sets out the savings by property class.

Scottish Government fully support the aims of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (CCPW), and congratulate Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on their ongoing work to highlight the important role cervical screening plays in the prevention of cervical cancer. We know that regular smear tests, along with the HPV vaccination programme, are vital in the fight against cervical cancer and would urge everyone who is eligible, to take up their cervical screening invitation.

This year, CCPW raises awareness of HPV and tackles the myths and stigma around this common virus. We are supporting CCPW and encouraging people to take part in #SmearForSmear by promoting the initiative on our 'wee c' Facebook page. In addition, the award winning Flower campaign will run from 13 January until 16 February 2020 across social media encouraging participation in the screening programme.

Section 8C of the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill, which devolves the power to set rates to local authorities, is technically flawed and would introduce complexity, risks and potential unpredictability into the rates system.

Business Improvement Districts are funded by a levy on businesses in addition to their non-domestic rates bill and they can only exist if they get support from a clear majority of local businesses in a ballot. A number of high profile retailer representatives have highlighted circumstances in which the devolution of rates to local authorities may undermine support at future ballots.

The Scottish Government does not support the principle of abolishing the uniform business rate and has written to business representative organisations echoing concerns that had been raised to all Members of the Scottish Parliament in a joint letter on 15 January 2020.

Non-domestic rates play an integrated role in the current wider local government finance arrangements by providing a guarantee and protection to local government funding whilst also ensuring certainty for ratepayers across Scotland.

The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill as amended at Stage 2 contains a number of technical flaws that means it is not immediately clear what impact it would have on the future rates system in terms of integrated features such as supplements, levies, reliefs or Business Improvement Districts.

The Scottish Government has received numerous representations including a joint letter on 15 January 2020 from an unprecedented 27 national business organisations representing thousands of members from a wide cross section of Scottish industry including manufacturing, retail, property, tourism, hospitality and leisure outlining their alarm and shared concerns over the abolition of the uniform business rate and national reliefs.

The Scottish Government will not support any amendments that continue to threaten the uniform business rate, jeopardise the Scottish Government's ability to set reliefs in subordinate legislation or undermine local government funding mechanisms.